Machining of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite by Electrochemical Discharge Machining Process

Abstract

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composite is highly applicable in aeronautics, defence and electronics industries application due to their better mechanical properties. Still, the micro-drilling of CFRP composite is challenge to research society due to its semi-conductive and fibrous nature. In this work, the author's successfully drilled micro-holes in CFRP composite using Electrochemical Discharge Machining (ECDM) process. The experiments were designed on the basis of Taguchi's method using L9 orthogonal array. The experiments were carried out with process parameters such as electrolyte concentration, applied voltage, inter electrode gap and material removal rate as response characteristic. The surface characteristics of drilled hole were studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrograph. Additionally, the dominant effects of process parameters on MRR were evaluated using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).